Nigerian Organization Proposes Death Penalty for Drug Counterfeiters

Nigeria has suffered a number of tragedies because of counterfeit drugs. Indeed, in 1995 alone, 2,500 children died in the country because they received a phony meningitis vaccine. One group is proposing a solution that could bring an end to such sad events: the death penalty for drug counterfeiters.

The Patriots are calling on Nigeria’s National Assembly to implement the death penalty for anyone found guilty of aiding in the production and distribution of counterfeit drugs, according to NEXT.com.

"The government should also come up with a legislation which will establish a death penalty for anyone guilty of aiding and abetting the production and distributions of fake drugs in the country,” said Olatubosun Fadeyi, the organization’s president, reports the news source.

Tokunbo Odebunmi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ogun State Ministry of Project Monitoring, said that he believes the death penalty fits the crime of drug counterfeiting.

"Death sentence is synonymous to the people who can kill like armed robbers," he said. "Anybody that produces fake drugs wants to kill, so, if he is caught before he kills, he should be killed too before he kills anybody."

In addition, Fadeyi, who is also the senior registrar of family medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital, said that many Nigerians are dying needlessly because they lack access to modern healthcare.